The earliest member of the Goldsborough family, so far that has been traced is Jno. Goldsbro, who was christened about 1749 at Winston, Durham. It is not known to whom he was married but he and his wife continued to live in Winston and from this marriage nine children were born and all were christened at Winston.

Jno' was buried on 12th June, 1808 at Staindrop, Durham.

Jno's son John married his cousin, Jane Goldsborough, who was born at Whaston, Yorkshire. The marriage took place at Forcett, Yorkshire on 10th October, 1795, the day before Jane gave birth to a son, William, at Eppleby in the parish of Forcett. Sometime later John and Jane moved to Whorlton, where another daughter and two more sons were born. John died at Whorlton and was buried on 5th February, 1818.

William grew up in Whorlton and the 1851 Census shows he married Jane? of Cotherstone, North Yorkshire, and their first child, George was christened on 5th September 1830, followed by Ann, christened 28th July, 1833, and Isabella, christened 4th June, 1837. The family were then living at Whorlton Bridge Toll Bar where the christenings all took place at the place at the Parish Church. The 1851 Census shows that William, senior, was an agricultural labourer.(1) The Whorlton Bridge, over the River Tees, still exists and is a narrow single track suspension bridge. It was built in 1831 as part of the Whorlton Turnpike Road; the toll collector was given as William Goldsborough the first time in 1837 and then periodically up to 1861.

William and Jane's daughter, Ann, gave birth to a daughter, Jane Ann,  on 29th August, 1860, at Barnard Castle, a village which is not far from Whorlton.(2). Barnard Castle was built before the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, and was passed down to various owners during the following centuries. It is now only ruins and it is from this castle the town has been named. In 1880 lead and timber were sold and the walls became a quarry from which many houses in the town were built. Sculptured stones existed in several places. In several houses, dressed stones looked strangely out of place in poor surroundings.

On 3rd March 1866, Ann gave birth to a son, Frederick, at Whorlton.(3)

On 26th December, 1869 William died and his wife, Jane continued to live at Worlton Bridge as a gate keeper, with her grand daughter, Jane Ann who was then nine years old and who was reared by her grandmother who died on 13th December, 1877.

Ann, her mother, had married John Neasham, who was a master grocer at Whorlton, and who was about ten years older than her. Apparently John adopted Ann's son, Frederick, as he is shown as his son on the 1871 Census - perhaps he may have been his father although his name doesn't appear on the birth certificate. After her marriage to John, Ann gave birth to at least one other child, a daughter, Sarah about 1869. Although there is no further information about Fred Neasham, I can remember my mother speaking about a Fred Neasham, who was a nephew of Jane Ann's and who spent some time in Australia and who was killed in World War 1.

Jane Ann married James Appleby at St. Mary's Church, Whorlton, on 25th September 1880. (4)

REFERENCES

Most of the information about the Goldsborough family came from Major Kenyon Fuller through parish registers and county records in Durham and Yorkshire.

1. Letter from Mr. Edwin Lowe, researcher, received on 16th January, 1992.
2. Birth Certificates from General Register, London.
3. Birth Certificates from General Register, London.
4. Marriage Certificate, General Register, London.

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